The Opening Bell

On August 20th, 2019 Steve Grzanich shares the day’s potential market drivers: A number of economic reports are out starting tomorrow. Home Depot, Kohls, and TJX report earnings before the bell today Medtronic, La-Z-Boy, Urban Outfitters earnings are out after the bell today

The live event and entertainment industry is incredibly lucrative, but fans can’t step in the door to these events without tickets. Steve Grzanich knows that the tickets are one of the most important parts to a successful event and Stan Chia (CEO of Vivid Seats) explained how his company has capitalized on that – with a new app, partnerships, and events happening everyday, they have become the largest independent ticket seller in the U.S. to take on the big guys. […]

On August 19th, 2019 Steve Grzanich shares the day’s potential market drivers: The July report on Existing Home Sales is out on Wednesday The Federal Open Market Committee begins their two day meeting on Wednesday as well First time claims for unemployment benefits will be out on Thursday

Asian Carp have been causing environmental issues all around the Great Lakes region for years, but they haven’t quite made their mark on Lake Michigan yet. John Flesher (Environmental Correspondent at Associated Press) joined Steve Grzanich to discuss a new study showing the potential of the invasive species flourishing in Lake Michigan along with how it impacts fisherman and the ecosystem.  

Earlier in the week, the protest going on in Hong Kong made their way to the airport, resulting in protesters shutting down the facilities. Steve Grzanich caught up with Brian Sumers (Sr. Aviation Business Editor at Skift.com) to talk about how much this impacted airlines around the world. Brian also discussed United Airlines adjusting their rules for pilots drinking before a flight and Southwest Airlines is increasing their footprint in Denver – one of the more popular destinations in the […]

On August 16th, 2019 Steve Grzanich shares the day’s potential market drivers: Housing Starts for July are out today (industry analyst are expecting a slight rise in the data) The Consumer Sentiment Report is out today Deere & Co. reports earnings today

The commercial real estate market has been going through a lot recently, but according to Dan Barrins (SVP in the Commercial Real Estate Group at Associated Bank) it seems as though things are smoothing out and the long term players are beginning to emerge. Steve Grzanich and the Associated Bank Thought Leader discussed the factors holding back the proposed Chicago casino, the growth of grocery store chains, and his outlook on the city going forward.  

The creation of a casino in Chicago is top of mind for many people who live in or around the city. Dan Barrins (SVP in the Commercial Real Estate Group at Associated Bank) and Steve Grzanich discussed the factors that are currently holding it back, along with giving the city an A- on the CRE report card during this week’s Associated Bank Thought Leader Conversation. (At 22:15) Virginia Harris (Demographer at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service) then shared the data […]

On August 15th, 2019 Steve Grzanich shares the day’s potential market drivers: Data on retail sales during July are out today (analysts expect a slight uptick) along with industrial production figures for July First time claims for unemployment benefits are out today Alibaba, JC Penny, Walmart and Nvidia report earnings today

Hospitality is a tough industry to be successful in, but Scott Greenberg (President and CEO of SMASH Residential and SMASHotels) approached it by thinking outside the box and his efforts have paid off. Bennett Wakenight checked in with Scott on the monthly Building Business Around Town conversation (presented by Associated Bank) after their discussion earlier in the year to talk about one of the staples of the SMASHotels business, Hotel EMC2.